Unfortunately, numerous cases of malicious recording of video or images have been reported. This has led to the development of various devices designed to prevent unwanted recording of images or video. On the one hand, several software-based solutions exist although they do not provide sufficient guarantees for end users, since safe operation of the software or of the software-based measures cannot be guaranteed. To solve this problem, several shielding devices that can be attached to the web cameras to obstruct their field of view have been developed. Such shielding devices can be locked in two positions, an open position and a closed position, and some of them are designed to be installed during the device manufacturing process. This is the case, for example, of the Microsoft patent US2005/0068423, “Method and system for capturing video on a personal computer”, dated Mar. 31, 2005, in which users may use an actuator for mechanically opening a cover located in front of the camera. The utility model CN200721762, filed by Zhou Y, uses a switch installed in the webcam itself that cuts off the electrical power supply when the camera is not in use. Other devices link the opening of the shielding cover with the start of the recording process, thus offering a shielding device easily controllable by users. This is true of U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,893, “U-cover Camera Phone”, dated Sep. 1, 2009. Patent US2011/0115924 “Image pickup device”, filed by Primax Electronics, presents a camera shielding device based on a shielding cover in which the driving element is an electromagnet, but control takes place through video monitoring software. Patent CN101980099, dated Feb. 23, 2011, addresses this issue through the monitoring of opacity on a liquid crystal display.
On the other hand, there are other straightforward solutions to cover the lens of web cameras that can be easily incorporated into such devices as shown in patent application PCT WO2009/137600 “Computer, Pda or telephone lens cover”, dated May 6, 2009. The utility model ES1077518 U “Web cameras protection device”, filed by Longares Monreal on Aug. 3, 2012, presents a device with a sliding or swinging shielding cover. Additionally, the utility model U 2012000157 “Shielding device for web cameras built into desktop computers”, filed by Guillermo Olivencia Cerezo on Feb. 20, 2012, simply describes a sliding shielding cover located in front of the camera lens.
There are no known shielding devices for web cameras allowing for parental control by users.